<p>My older d rec’d a deans scholarship in 2008. It totalled $15k a year. Although we took the offer quite seriously and Brandeis was a top consideration, it seems that the school was well known for their merit aid and many ivy candidates applied, got accepted, but were not enticed by the merit aid to enroll.</p>
<p>So Brandeis changed their policy focusing on financial aid. When my younger d was going o apply last year, they made it very clear at their info session not to expect merit aid except or very specific awards. </p>
<p>D ended up going ED to NYU, but I followed the threads last year to see what actually happened, since there were some people in our community who spoke to admissions and were told conflicting stories. </p>
<p>In the end, merit was awarded to top candidates. The amounts were lower, and I’m sure the candidates who got the awards were more likely to enroll because they weren’t expecting $.</p>
<p>This new policy must be successful since they seem to have repeated it for 2013.</p>